Soup - Can I use a hand blender?

Hi,

Novice to the old style, however, am enjoying trying new things. I am thinking of making some soup in the week but do not have a processor - would a hand blender do?

If I was looking for a processor any tips on an efficient cheapish model - doesn't have to be an all singing/dancing one!

Thanks

If you're referring to a stick (immersion) blender, then yes.

The only catch to a stick blender is that you've got a better chance of leaving some larger chunks than with a traditional blender or food processor. But the advantages are huge: No wrestling a big pot of hot soup over to the blender, which may geyser when near-boiling soup is agitated, no leaks from an over-filled food processor.

And variations in texture can be a good thing, depending on the soup. If you need it to be a pure smooth creamed soup, you could always strain any chunky bits out.

Muia wrote:
If I was looking for a processor any tips on an efficient cheapish model - doesn't have to be an all singing/dancing one!

Thanks

A few good options, with reviews, here: https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-immersion-blender/

HI,

I bought mine at a rummage sale for $2. It breaks, I just get another one.

I was at a cooking demo recently. They suggested the best way to use your stick blender:
1) An up and down motion, or
2) At an angle where air can be added for whipped cream and such.

I have never done 2) yet. What they suggested avoiding: A circular motion.

Don't ask me why, I am just parroting what they said.

Regards,
Cathy

Cathy2 wrote:HI,

I bought mine at a rummage sale for $2. It breaks, I just get another one.

I was at a cooking demo recently. They suggested the best way to use your stick blender:
1) An up and down motion, or
2) At an angle where air can be added for whipped cream and such.

I have never done 2) yet. What they suggested avoiding: A circular motion.

Don't ask me why, I am just parroting what they said.

Regards,
Cathy

Be very careful using it an angle. It moves a lot more material around than a whisk does, and if part of the business end is out of the soup/cream/whatever, you will spray it all over the room. You can do it if you are careful to make sure the sides of the vessel will take care of the spatter, but it'll take some messy practice.

Be very careful using it an angle. It moves a lot more material around than a whisk does, and if part of the business end is out of the soup/cream/whatever, you will spray it all over the room. You can do it if you are careful to make sure the sides of the vessel will take care of the spatter, but it'll take some messy practice.

I agree, because I have done this. These people used a deeper container than I typically do. I am going to practice to see if I can make it work without causing a cleaning nightmare.

Cathy2 wrote:1) An up and down motion ... What they suggested avoiding: A circular motion.

I'll speculate that this recommendation is because layers stratify vertically. Take an obvious example like oil & vinegar. If you blend in a circle at the bottom of the container, you'd be stirring the vinegar into itself. Layers in a soup are usually the result of different densities due to things like buoyancy (fats float, some solids float to the top, others sink to the bottom), temperature differences, and to a lesser extent, salt content.

It turns out that a stick blender is awfully versatile. Last Christmas I made Jacques Pépin's chicken liver paté with mine. And I use it weekly to make Kenji's 30-second mayonnaise.

C2--I use mine at an angle all the time, now that I've learned how; and you DO need a taller vessel to be safe. With particularly thick sludges, you can get cavitation (= the blade whirls in an empty space/air bubble created inside the little bonnet. To stop cavitation, you must angle the blade, and/or move the blade end from the bottom of the vessel.

Couldn't do w/o my stick blender!

Geo

About 3 years ago my daughter gave me a stick blender for some occasion. I threw it into a drawer and thought I would never use it. Then I pulled it out and tried it in a few situations and then used it more and now it is an essential part of my kitchen and would be immediately replaced when it dies.

When buying stick blenders, I've found that models with stainless shafts do much better than those with plastic shafts. You'll pay a bit more for them but they're less susceptible to damage, hence they last longer.

=R=

Made soup for two with a hand blender this evening. Tasty, easy, inexpensive, filling, made me happy.

Garbanzo soup:
Saute onion, garlic, celery in olive oil with salt and spice blend*.
Drained 29oz can of garbanzo, saute.
32oz box of low salt chicken soup. Simmer
Puree with immersion blender.
4oz water
Diced Polish sausage and three small diced white potatoes, simmer.
Squeeze of lemon juice, garnish with green onion and croutons pan toasted with olive oil, salt and spice blend.
Eat, repeat,
Pantry items and ingredients left over from other meals, the ultimate weeknight dinner.
*Spice blend, cumin, crushed red pepper, black pepper toasted in pan. Whirred in coffee grinder.



Garbanzo soup, count me a Fan!